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Western Province fighting to keep hold of Senatla

Western Province are trying to fend off interest for their winger Seabelo Senatla with the Lions reportedly interested in bringing the SA Sevens star to Johannesburg.

The Western Province Rugby Union, however, is confident of holding onto the player whose contract with them is due to expire at the end of October.

WP are reportedly also interested in signing another Springbok Sevens player Tim Agaba, who until recently was at the EP Kings.

The Lions are looking to bolster their ranks with black players specifically after they struggled to field enough players of colour during the Super Rugby season.

Senatla's Sevens commitments means he hasn't played much rugby for the Stormers over the last few years, but he remains a great talent and still has a national contract with SA Rugby for the next two years leading up to the Commonwealth Games in 2018.

Despite interest from the Lions, Western Province are confident of holding onto Senatla in the long-term.

“We are confident we can keep him. We will announce everything soon, because we can’t say anything if we don’t have pen on paper. But the negotiations are at an advanced stage,” Gert Smal, WPRU Director of Rugby, told Independent Media.

“He is still contracted with SA Rugby and the Sevens. It’s up to the Sevens guys to decide how they are going to use him in the future.”

Senatla and fullback Cheslin Kolbe returned to WP’s training base on Tuesday for injury assessments after winning the bronze medal with the SA Sevens team at the Olympic Games in Rio.